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INTERPOL says its 2026 Operation First Light led to hundreds of arrests in Sri Lanka tied to cyber scam centres—not raids on hundreds of centres. Across the wider operation, which ran from 15 January to 30 April 2026, INTERPOL reports 5,811 people arrested in 97 countries and territories. Its announcement does not state how many scam centres were raided.
What INTERPOL reported in Operation First Light 2026
Coordinated by INTERPOL, Operation First Light 2026 targeted social-engineering scams and related money laundering. From 15 January to 30 April 2026, authorities in 97 countries and territories exchanged intelligence and took operational steps that included raids on identified premises, blocking or freezing bank accounts and virtual wallets, issuing INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions, and using the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism to help stop illicit transfers in fiat currency and virtual assets.
INTERPOL reported the following results for the operation:
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|---|---|
| Individuals arrested | 5,811 |
| Illicit assets intercepted | USD 293 million |
| Victims identified globally | Over 142,000 |
| Cases analyzed | 152,808 |
| Bank accounts blocked | 31,014 |
| Cases solved | 23,715 |
| Suspects identified | 15,606 |
| Notices and Diffusions issued | 99 |
| Participating countries and territories | 97 |
These are totals reported by INTERPOL for Operation First Light 2026. “Assets intercepted” means funds or other assets were stopped or blocked; the announcement does not say the full USD 293 million was returned to victims.
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What “hundreds” refers to—and what it does not
INTERPOL says hundreds of suspects were arrested in Sri Lanka for involvement in cyber scam centres. That is a count of people, not a count of centres. The release confirms raids on identified premises as one kind of operational activity, but gives no total number of scam centres raided or dismantled.
The word “scam centre” also should not be read as meaning a telephone call centre in every case. The operation addressed a range of social-engineering schemes, including romance, impersonation, investment, sextortion and business email compromise scams.
Examples of scams and enforcement actions
Impersonation and gambling network in Eswatini
Police in Eswatini arrested 82 people and dismantled a network linked to illegal online gambling, money laundering and impersonation scams. Authorities seized 240 electronic devices, foreign currency, and a replica Brazilian police station equipped with fake uniforms, signage and equipment. Scammers posing as Brazil’s Federal Police on video calls told targets their money was needed for “safekeeping.”
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Romance-scam money laundering in Thailand
Thai police made two arrests in a money-laundering investigation linked to romance scams. INTERPOL said one suspect’s digital wallet processed more than USD 122.5 million over ten months. That is a figure for wallet activity cited in the investigation, not a claim that the suspect personally earned that amount.
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Business email compromise transfer stopped
Authorities in Singapore and Oman used I-GRIP to block a USD 6.6 million transfer linked to a business email compromise scam in which criminals impersonated a supplier.
Intervention before a transfer in Macao
In Macao, China, an anti-fraud outreach event helped police intervene before a victim sent close to USD 372,000 to people impersonating public officials.
Scam centres operating from hotels in Palau
Authorities in Palau deported 22 people for their roles in two connected scam centres operating from hotels.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchDo not confuse First Light 2026 with earlier or separate crackdowns
Operation First Light 2016 was a different INTERPOL operation, focused on telephone and email scams in Asia. INTERPOL’s account of that operation explicitly describes call-centre raids: Spain shut down 13 centres, while a case in the Philippines involved around 1,300 Chinese nationals arrested at a single location. Those figures do not describe First Light 2026.
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Other 2026 enforcement announcements are also separate. On 29 April, the U.S. Department of Justice described a coordinated cryptocurrency investment-fraud takedown involving at least 276 arrests and at least nine scam centres dismantled. In a different announcement, INTERPOL’s Operation Synergia III reported more than 45,000 malicious IP addresses and servers taken down and 94 arrests; that operation focused on phishing, malware and ransomware. Neither announcement establishes how many centres were raided in First Light 2026.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Arrests are not convictions
INTERPOL’s announcement reports arrests, investigations and operational results; it does not establish the outcome of each individual case. An arrest should not be treated as proof that a person was convicted or knowingly participated in a crime. In its separate April 2026 scam-centre case, the U.S. Department of Justice says defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Who coordinated the operation
INTERPOL says Operation First Light 2026 was funded by China’s Ministry of Public Security and supported by ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL and Europol. Tomonobu Kaya, Director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said: “Social engineering scams continue to pose a significant threat to our society. Criminal syndicates exploit human psychology to manipulate their targets, and no nation can stay safe unless all countries are equipped and committed to jointly fighting back.”
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